Dubai inflation hits six-year high

A recent report issued by the Dubai Statistics Centre (DSC) shows that annual inflation of the consumer price index (CPI) for goods and services has risen by 4.68 per cent in May 2015, compared with the same period of 2014.

Clothing and footwear topped the list, with a rise of 8.67 per cent, followed by tobacco at 8.05 per cent and housing, water, electricity, gas and fuel by 7.81 per cent.

The Dubai inflation index in furniture, furnishings and household items and maintenance rose by 7.33 per cent.

Moreover, miscellaneous goods and services increased by 3.29 per cent, while the inflation index in hotels and restaurants rose by 2.91 per cent.

Tuition fees affected the education index, which increased by 2.22 per cent.

Meanwhile, the prices of the food and beverages group rose by 1.67 per cent and transport by 1.21 per cent.

The communication index inflated by 0.79 per cent, while prices in the health group rose 0.57 per cent and recreation and culture by 0.07 per cent.

Meanwhile, the DSC report suggests that monthly inflation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for goods and services group has risen by 0.65 per cent in May 2015, compared with April 2015, due to an increase in prices of the food and beverages group by 3.01 per cent.

The housing, water, electricity, gas and fuel index rose by 0.70 per cent, with this group being considered the highest in terms of relative importance for this group – as it comprises 4.24 per cent of total CPI, with 43.70 per cent.

The miscellaneous goods and service sector rose by 0.06 per cent with a relative importance of 6.15 per cent.

The Dubai inflation index rose for recreation and culture, reaching 0.03 per cent with relative importance of 4.24 per cent of total CPI.

It is noteworthy that the monthly inflation index for tobacco remained stable, while the tobacco annual index witnessed a rise of 8.05 per cent due to an increase of 11.11 per cent in the tobacco prices last July, across all outlets.